So, you’ve been thinking about starting a blog for your business? Great! What do you have ready for your first post? (If you’re hearing crickets, read on! If you’re not…ok, still read on!) The idea of starting a blog can seem intimidating and rightfully so! Writing is often seen as a difficult, arduous, time-consuming task that only the truly elite can dedicate time to accomplish. My secret is that writing doesn’t need to be this way and you can get yourself past this temporary block by mapping out your first posts so you’re ready to get down to writing. You can start a business blog and maintain the pace of writing on that business blog, and keep your sanity. Here’s my top tip to get you started:

Start a list.

Stick with me here! I know you may be rolling your eyes but stick with me. This isn’t any old list. This will be the start of your blog. Create a list of the 20 topics that you’ll create for your first blog posts. Not sure how to fill-out 20 topics for 20 different posts? Well, here you go:

• Look into your past. Not in that crystal ball type of way. Write about where you were before you started your business, what your “before” photo would be if you were selling skin care/weight loss/hair growth product…you get the idea. This shows your readers that you’ve been where they are now and that you understand their struggles.
• Talk about how you help clients. No hypotheticals here, just real stories about people whom you’ve helped achieve their goals. This doesn’t need to be huge changes, sometimes the smallest updates to procedures or shifts in mindset are all that’s needed to move someone forward. Oh, and make sure your client is all on-board with having their info shared before you post. 🙂
• Share a piece of inspiration from someone in your industry whom you admire. This can be in the form of sharing a book that you’ve recently read by them, sharing the info of your coach or mentor, or just talking about what someone else does that you admire. Maybe she runs a fantastic Facebook group, or has an amazing program coming out soon? Go with sharing that info! This’ll show your clients more about your personality and your approach to working with them (if it is the same as theirs).
• Research the top issues for clients in your industry. For some of us this can be a quick Google search to find lots of results, for others it may take more digging. My favorite area? Finding what your ideal clients are saying in Facebook groups. 🙂
• Talk about recent news related to your industry. If you help clients lose weight by finding a healthier lifestyle, talk about new research that supports your programs and what you do. Add links to give your readers an easy way to see this supporting news.
• Go seasonal! Often industries see an increase in activity during specific times of the year, either by season or around holidays related to their industry. An example: New Year’s Day is often a great time to market programs related to resolutions but December is better if you sell products which could be given as gifts.

Lists are a big key to how you’ll keep the momentum going for your blog. Once you’ve mapped out 20 post topics from the categories above, keep track of them in a doc online or in a notebook. Go back to the list when you find that you have time to write a post.

Now that you have your list…

How’s the idea of writing a blog looking now? Maybe not so intimidating? If so, here’s to your newly started business blog! I’d love to hear how this tip works for you! Catch up with me on Instagram or email me at kristina@truebluemarketing.co. I personally respond to every email.